Apollo Hospitals - Harnessing Technology in Healthcare will open up newer vistas

Experts from across the globe in the IT & healthcare domain along with the policy makers to come together for Apollo Hospitals twin conference in Chennai

Hyderabad, October 18th, 2016: Apollo Hospitals, one of Asia’s largest integrated healthcare provider, today announced the seventh chapter of its flagship conference ‘The International Conference on Transforming Healthcare through IT’, scheduled for October 21st and 22nd in Chennai. The one of its kind conference themed on leveraging IT in healthcare and Patient Safety is a platform to bring forth key developments and success stories wherein technology has been harnessed to improve the overall healthcare ecosystem across the globe. This is the only platform in the country that brings together leaders in the domain with an intent to exchange knowledge and exhibit what technology can do to improve the quality of life through healthcare.

Apollo Hospitals being a thought leader has been driving the need for this revolution and has successfully leveraged IT in healthcare in various aspects like surgical advancements, access to healthcare through ePHCs and through engaging tools like telemedicine, eICUs that has helped the organization service patients residing in remote and rural areas. Ms Sangita Reddy, Joint Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Limited, says, “A country like India with a huge population demands unique solutions to cater to the rising healthcare demands. This conference will be an ideal platform for knowledge transfer on unique technologies and solutions from key players in IT, Healthcare and also policy makers and government bodies to break down challenges, identify solutions and devise an execution plan to make healthcare accessible to all individuals.”

According to Medical Council of India (MCI), there are around 9.29 lakh doctors registered in the Indian Medical Register, giving a doctor patient ratio of 1:1674 against the WHO norm of 1:1000. While government bodies and private organizations are trying their best to evaluate and leverage existing manpower and resources for better healthcare access and delivery, few organizations have started migrating towards technology to help tackle this shortage. “Clearly this is the way forward. Technology advancements in healthcare informatics, telemedicine, Hospital Information System (HIS), electronic health records, remote diagnostic, therapeutic tools, healthcare wearables have pivoted the first step towards tech enabled healthcare and can be further leveraged to effect new modalities of healthcare. Improvements in collaborative data exchange, workflows and mobility, and need for better financial management are the next phase of technological evolution in healthcare” adds Ms Sangita Reddy.

The conference will also see the participation of all the board members together from the International Society of Telemedicine and eHealth (ISfTeH), an international federation that facilitates global dissemination of knowledge and experience in Telemedicine and eHealth wherein the team will share their distinguished knowledge in the various areas relating to Telemedicine such as ‘Transatlantic Teleconsultation’, ‘Human-Computer Interaction Technology’ etc. “Telemedicine is today taking the centre stage with its growing potential to deliver better and more precise healthcare services. An informed patient is the new foundation that our future is set to grow up on. In that regard, we see it a great opportunity to participate in a platform in India, to bring in global ideas to the table for collective growth and potential collaboration. We are glad to have associated with Apollo Hospitals in this endeavor to further our efforts in increasing access to information in the field of Telemedicine and eHealth”, says Mr Andy Fischer, President, ISFTeH.

The International Congress on Patient Safety 2016 will also bring together patient safety experts from across the country and the world, right here in Chennai to discuss and share knowledge on ways and means to enhance patient safety and also look at avenues to improve healthcare delivery and access. Transforming Healthcare with IT was conceptualized to create a platform for organizations with similar objectives of enhancing healthcare access and delivery to come together and deliberate on the best possible tools to improve India’s healthcare eco-system. These twin conferences, conceptualized with the single agenda of enabling better healthcare reach will be the ideal platform to discuss way forward and strategy to make India a healthier nation.

About Apollo Hospitals

It was in 1983, that Dr. Prathap Reddy made a pioneering endeavor by launching India’s first corporate hospital - Apollo Hospitals in Chennai. Over the years Apollo Hospitals has established itself as home to the largest cardiac practice in India with over 160,000 cardiac surgeries. Apollo Hospitals is also the world’s largest private cancer care provider and runs the world’s leading solid organ transplant program having conducted over 1,500 solid organ transplants in 2014-15 alone.

Now, as Asia’s largest and most trusted healthcare group, its presence includes 9,554 beds across 69 Hospitals, 2,326 Pharmacies, over 172 Primary Care and Diagnostic Clinics, 148 plus Telemedicine Centres and 80 plus Apollo Munich Insurance branches panning the length and breadth of the country. As an integrated healthcare service provider with health insurance services, projects consultancy services, medical education centres and a Research Foundation with a focus on global clinical trials, epidemiological studies, stem cell & genetic research, Apollo Hospitals has been at the forefront of new medical breakthroughs with the most recent investment being that of commissioning the first Proton Therapy Centre across Asia, Africa and Australia in Chennai, India. Every four days, the Apollo Hospitals Group touches a million lives, in its mission to bring healthcare of International standards within the reach of every individual. In a rare honour, the Government of India issued a commemorative stamp in recognition of Apollo's contribution, the first for a healthcare organization. Apollo Hospitals Chairman, Dr. Prathap C Reddy, was conferred with the prestigious Padma Vibhushan in 2010. For more than 28 years, the Apollo Hospitals Group has continuously excelled and maintained leadership in medical innovation, world-class clinical services and cutting-edge technology. Our hospitals are consistently ranked amongst the best hospitals globally for advanced medical services and research.